Tuesday, 10 November 2015

The Orphan Brigade - Soundtrack to a Ghost Story

Haunting Irony

The video clip below is the first single from a fine album by a group of Nashville musicians and others [including Gretchen Peters] who lived in a haunted house over various periods as inspiration for the songs on this album and a documentary about the experience. At the moment I am simply experiencing the wonderful songcraft, Trouble My Heart... one of the more upbeat, and I like in particular the beautiful Pale Horse and Last June Light, sweet melodies and vocal harmonies. There are even more upbeat tracks like Whistling Walk that point to an occasional playfulness in the writing, though this too is swelled with gorgeous harmony; Good Old Flag is consummate americana; Cursed Be the Wanderer has a great celtic-in-a-church folk aura to it; Paddy's Lamentation is an old celtic song, and Goodnight Mary is blissful in its harmonies. If the lyrics turn out to convey quite dark and sinister meanings, much of the music is heavily ironic in conveying this with such loveliness.

About Me

This blog is essentially for music reviews, including live gigs. Frequently heavy on 60s/70s nostalgia, the time of my musical growing-up, there is also an eclectic and contemporary range. In addition I fuel a commitment to posting themed album covers for the simple challenge and fun of it - as I've started, I'll keep going. Enjoy.